title: The adjunct therapeutic effect of lasers with medication in the management of orofacial pain: double blind randomized controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of laser therapy in conjunction with a pharmaceutical approach to alleviate myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  A few clinical studies have evaluated the analgesic effect of laser therapy on orofacial pain, most of which reported controversial results. Myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome (MPDS), trigeminal neuralgia, and atypical facial pain are the most common facial pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  A double-blind randomized controlled trial was designed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of GaAs laser (peak power 10 W; pulse frequency 3000 Hz; average power 0.012 W; wavelength 980 nm; irradiation duration 300 sec; and dose 12.73 J/cm(2)) on the management of common orofacial pain. The laser group (n=30) received 10 sessions of treatment with GaAs laser. The control group (n=30) was treated identically with sham laser. All patients received the appropriate pharmaceutical treatment as well. Visual analog scale (VAS) was recorded for all patients at baseline, and immediately, 2, and 4 months after the final treatment session. The qualitative variables among the groups were compared using the χ(2) test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both groups demonstrated a significant reduction in pain with the progression of time (p<0.05). The difference between the two groups was not significant (p>0.05). Whereas laser therapy in the present study failed to show any significance over the control group, the role of covariates such as radiation parameters (wave length, dose) should not be overlooked.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found no significant level of efficacy for the GaAs laser in the management of common orofacial pain. Further studies are suggested to evaluate the efficacy of other types of lasers with different parameters in the management of orofacial pains.
authors.affiliation: 1 Oral & Maxillofacial Department, School of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences , Shiraz, Iran .
authors.forename: Dariush
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Amanat
authors.forename: Hooman
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ebrahimi
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lavaee
authors.forename: Abbass
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alipour
mesh_terms: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002220:Carbamazepine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D054023:Lasers, Semiconductor / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D028022:Low-Level Light Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009125:Muscle Relaxants, Central / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D009125:Muscle Relaxants, Central; D002220:Carbamazepine